By analysing the overall sourcing experience, venues and hotels can see the importance of maintaining an excellent reputation and a strong digital presence. About 35% of planners are Very Certain about event choice at the start of the sourcing process however 81% of respondents also said that they are willing to switch venues for a cost savings of at least 1%.

43%

43%

Somewhat Certain

9%

9%

Not Certain

13%

13%

Extremely Certain

43%

Somewhat Certain

Planner's greatest uncertainty - and hotel's greatest opportunity - is in their venue choice as more than 50% of the planners are Somewhat Certain or Not Certain of their event venue at the start of the sourcing process. That opens the door for hotels and venues that can be found online easily and provide planners with all the information they need.

35%

35%

Very Certain

9%

9%

Not Certain

13%

13%

Extremely Certain

9%

Not Certain

Planner's greatest uncertainty - and hotel's greatest opportunity - is in their venue choice as more than 50% of the planners are Somewhat Certain or Not Certain of their event venue at the start of the sourcing process. That opens the door for hotels and venues that can be found online easily and provide planners with all the information they need.

43%

35%

Somewhat Certain

13%

43%

Extremely Certain

35%

13%

Very Certain

13%

Extremely Certain

By analysing the overall sourcing experience, venues and hotels can see the importance of maintaining an excellent reputation and a strong digital presence. About 13% of planners are Extremely Certain about event choice at the start of the sourcing process however 81% of respondents also said that they are willing to switch venues for a cost savings of at least 1%.

43%

35%

Somewhat Certain

9%

9%

Not Certain

35%

43%

Very Certain

At which stage during the sourcing process do you experience the most difficulty?

29% of the respondents are reporting that negotiating with the venue is the most difficult stage of the sourcing process. Hospitality professionals can improve these processes by training sales staff to provide clear and detailed answers to all fielded questions, setting targets for faster response times, and ensuring transparent and accurate pricing.

20%

Choosing a Venue

Choosing a venue is ranked as the second most difficult stage during the venue sourcing process. Hence it makes it imperative for the hoteliers to ensure they are thinking from a planner's standpoint and ensure the planner experience at every stage of the booking process is optimized and made planner friendly.

18%

Researching Venues

18% of the respondents are reporting that researching the venue is the 3rd most difficult stage of the sourcing process. Do you know that 99% of the planners are using a personal computer, mobile phone or tablet to source venues? It is very important for Hotels to have a strong presence on the web across different channels and devices because workplace behavioural trends are evolving and technology is enabling planners to be more flexible thereby enabling them to work on the go. Venues and hotels therefore need to optimise their mobile presence and better integrate technology into their sales, marketing, and event support processes.

By analysing the overall sourcing experience, venues and hotels can see the importance of maintaining an excellent reputation and a strong digital presence. About 15% of planners are Extremly Certain about event choice at the start of the sourcing process however 50% of respondants also said that they are willing to switch venues if offered10% additional discount.

Which element do you think hotels could most improve when responding to your RFPs?

Thoroughness was the biggest issue in the year 2017 report as per the planners, however, this year it ranks third behind Trustworthiness and Speed.
Although it has slipped through the ranks, it still remains as the top three areas upon which hoteliers should focus on.

EMEA region has seen improvements in the thoroughness of RFP responses, reflected by a drop of 9 percentage points. Thoroughness can be further improved through investment in training and talent to ensure easy-to-understand, thorough, and accurate responses, making room to win more business.

Responding to RFPs in time is of essence for planners, 24% of the planners choose this as a major pain point in 2017 and this figure rose to 26% in 2018.
Hoteliers have an opportunity here to do better by improving the response time, something that is totally under their control.

Responding to RFPs in time is of essence for planners and EMEA planners choose this as the second area where hotels can improve upon.
Hoteliers have an opportunity here to do better by improving the response time, something that is totally under their control.

38% of the planners stated that trustworthiness in meeting/exceeding expectations is what hoteliers should aim at.

Many respondents cited issues such as inaccurate information and changes being made after the proposal has been agreed upon and the contract signed. This indicates that there needs to be further work to earn planners’ full trust.

Trustworthiness in meeting/exceeding expectations is the top factor where hoteliers need to improve upon while responding to RFPs. This attribute also shows a striking 15% jump since 2017. Many respondents cited issues such as inaccurate information and changes being made after the proposal has been agreed upon and the contract signed. This indicates that there needs to be further work to earn planners’ full trust.

This is the third most important feature that makes an impact on the planners choice of choosing a venue.
Venues should always quote alternate dates in their RFP responses in case they are not available for the primary dates. They also have the option to go for partial bids in case they cant cater to the entire requirement of an RFP.

20%

20%

Venue Cost

20%

20%

Venue Location

13%

13%

Customer Service

12%

12%

The Unique Atmosphere of Venue

12%

The Unique Atmosphere of Venue

This shares the stage with Customer Service as the fourth most important feature that influences a planners decision to book a venue.

20%

20%

Venue Cost

20%

15%

Venue Location

13%

13%

Customer Service

15%

20%

Availability of Preffered Dates

20%

Venue Cost

Venue Cost is the most important feature for planners when it comes to booking a venue.
It was ranked at the second spot last year, but has inched its way up the ladder becoming the most crucial factor which influences the planners decision.

20%

20%

Venue Location

15%

15%

Availability of Preffered Dates

13%

13%

Customer Service

12%

12%

The Unique Atmosphere of Venue

13%

Customer Service

Customer Service goes a long way and our planners rate it the same way. It is the fourth most important feature that influences a planners decision while booking a venue.
This also happens to be in easy win since this is totally controlled by internal factors and can be easily improved by hoteliers.

20%

20%

Venue Cost

20%

15%

Venue Location

15%

20%

Availibility of Preffered Dates

12%

12%

The Unique Atmosphere of Venue

20%

Venue Location

Location of the venue is the second most important feature that influences a planners decision of choosing a venue. It was ranked as the most important feature in our 2017 report, however it has slipped one spot to come second.

20%

20%

Venue Cost

15%

15%

Availability of Preffered Dates

13%

13%

Customer Service

12%

12%

The Unique Atmosphere of Venue

What are the top two factors that prevent you from returning to a venue?

Venue variety is one of the most important reasons which stop the planner from returning to a venue. Hence hotels should move from delivering cookie cutter events to creating bespoke events which scream of the identity of a hotel's brand.

23%

Location of Venue

Being ranked as one of the top factors that prevent planners to return to a venue, highlights that promoting and taking advantage of the location of a venue is also imperative for a hotel to win repeat business.

Venue variety is one of the most important reasons which stop the planner from returning to a venue. Hence hotels should move from delivering cookie cutter events to creating bespoke events which scream of the identity of a hotel's brand.

Being ranked as one of the top factors that prevent planners to return to a venue, highlights that promoting and taking advantage of the location of a venue is also imperative for a hotel to win repeat business.

51%

Venue Variety

Venue variety is one of the most important reasons which stop the planner from returning to a venue. Hence hotels should move from delivering cookie cutter events to creating bespoke events which scream of the identity of a hotel's brand.

39%

Limited Ability to Support Networking or Experiential Activities

Its all about experience! Hoteliers now need to work towards not only providing cutting edge technology, connectivity etc. at the events but also deliver experiential events that go beyond the typical meeting.

Venue variety is one of the most important reasons which stop the planner from returning to a venue. Hence hotels should move from delivering cookie cutter events to creating bespoke events which scream of the identity of a hotel's brand.

Its all about experience! Hoteliers now need to work towards not only providing cutting edge technology, connectivity etc. at the events but also deliver experiential events that go beyond the typical meeting.

23%

Location of Venue

Being ranked as one of the top factors that prevent planners to return to a venue, highlights that promoting and taking advantage of the location of a venue is also imperative for a hotel to win repeat business.

39%

Limited Ability to Support Networking or Experiential Activities

Its all about experience! Hoteliers now need to work towards not only providing cutting edge technology, connectivity etc. at the events but also deliver experiential events that go beyond the typical meeting.

Being ranked as one of the top factors that prevent planners to return to a venue, highlights that promoting and taking advantage of the location of a venue is also imperative for a hotel to win repeat business.

Its all about experience! Hoteliers now need to work towards not only providing cutting edge technology, connectivity etc. at the events but also deliver experiential events that go beyond the typical meeting.